HARRISBURG — A bill designed to ensure that offenders who illegally buy guns for criminals will face at least five years in prison moved a step closer to becoming Pennsylvania law on Wednesday.

The bill passed the state Senate unanimously. It overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives last year and Gov. Tom Corbett’s office said he is likely to sign it.

The bill received much attention in recent weeks after Bradley Fox, a police officer in Plymouth Township, was fatally shot by a man using a gun illegally purchased for him.

Under the bill, someone who is convicted of multiple “straw purchases” of firearms in one case would be treated as a repeat offender and face a mandatory five- to 10-year prison sentence.

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The bill clarifies the intent of a previous law that had been designed to enforce that same sentence, but because of a recent court decision, it was rendered unenforceable and offenders face no minimum prison sentence under current sentencing guidelines.

“Is this enough for us to say we will not tolerate illegal gun sales? The answer is absolutely not,” Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery, said during floor remarks.

The alleged straw purchaser of the gun that killed Fox, Michael Henry of Philadelphia, is facing multiple felony weapons charges. Andrew Thomas, the suspect in Fox’s Sept. 13 shooting, committed suicide amid an ensuing manhunt, police said. At the time of the shooting, authorities said, Thomas was on probation in Montgomery County and barred by law from buying a gun.

Fox, 34, was a seven-year veteran of the Plymouth Township police force and served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine. He was married with one child, and he and his wife were expecting another. They were residents of New Hanover.